Heart of Darkness

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Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad

Topic : Heart of Darkness has been called a night journey, a voyage into the subconscious, an initiation. Comment on these definitions.

Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad in 1899. The book follows the story of Marlow, a sailor telling his travel into the depth of Belgian Congo through the use of retrospective narration. Though can be considered the main narrator, the story is told through the eye of an unnamed person present on the boat, a “frame narrator”, who listens to Marlow's tale. Throughout the ages, Heart of Darkness has been illustrated as a night journey, a voyage into the subconscious as well as an initiation. These elements are justifiable due to the number of examples relying on such definitions.

Heart of Darkness has been recalled as a night journey. Indeed, the book describes the Marlow's progression through the Congo in which he evolves from innocence and goodness to being familiar with the true nature of evil. Throughout the novel, the concept of darkness used to represent evil is represented metaphorically, literally as well as psychologically. The main characters of Heart of Darkness are Marlow and Kurtz. Though both characters are different, they are both presented with similar mental and physical traits. In addition to the growth of man from innocence to familiarity with evil, it is possible to interpret the character of Kurtz as a representation of evil and Marlow as one of good. The night journey of the novel is described within Marlow's character. Even before his departure to the Congo, Marlow says that Africa “had become a place of darkness”. With this, he shows the reader a sense of depravity towards the continent. When later Marlow describes the river as a “mighty big river resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head at sea, its body at rest...

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...Heart of Darkness, a novel written by Joseph Conrad, tells the story of a character named Marlow, who is recalling his journey to Africa down the Congo River to a group of seamen on a boat. The story is being retold by an unknown figure that people refer to as the narrator. Joseph Conrad’s characters are constructed around the ideas that were present in society when the novel was written. Characters such as Kurtz and Marlow are created to be naive and to allows action to be the truest medium to characterize the cast in Conrad’s novel.
Shortly after being introduced to Marlow, we discover that he is adventurous through his desire to travel to the centre of Africa because it’s simply uncharted on both the map and in his mind. He acts as a guide for the reader. This is a very daring nature and it Marlow’s adventurous and daring nature is evident to readers when he ventures to rescue Kurtz after he goes far into the grass to take him back to safety. Marlow is in many ways a traditional hero: perceived to be tough, honest, an independent thinker, and a capable man. He is highly skilled at what he does- work is a distraction for him. Marlow can be read as an extreme of Kurtz, as they share the same mind set and the beliefs of the company. While visiting the company, Marlow witnesses events that are counted as life changing- he sees the slaves of Africa being mistreated, and sees how life is different for people in Africa due to the lack of jobs and...

...Darkness
Every man and woman has a dark side to them. The characters in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness are no different. In this novella, a man named Marlow travels into Africa because he wants to fill the “blank spaces’” on the map, but what he encounters there is not at all what he expected or hoped for (Conrad 373). He finds that the colonists who came before him have turned into violent and covetous people. They have lost sight of who they really are and have forgotten the reason they went to Africa in the first place, to build a civilization. A certain darkness in the jungle has overtaken them, and they are overwhelmed and unable to realize it. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses imagery and setting to display the effects of the darkness within the jungle and within imperialism, while in “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent,” John Milton provides a more literal way that darkness can consume a human’s life.
The title represents the spiritual and unexplored darkness within the characters. In the novella, the jungle brings out the greedy and selfish side of men, their own heart of darkness. It is a “night journey into the unconscious” when men go to Africa (Meisel 21). Even the doctor that Marlow meets warns him that when men go to Africa, they change, and “the changes take place inside” (Conrad 376)....

...The Real Heart Of DarknessHeart of Darkness is not only the title of Joseph Conrad's novella, it is also a main theme. This is portrayed through different images of darkness, black and evil throughout his story. The setting is often used with images of darkness; even as Marlow tells his tale, it is night. This darkness' is inside many concepts of the novella such as Africa, women, black people, maps, the ivory trade corporation and Kurtz. Through these images on his journey, Marlow has a realization about the inner darkness of man, and thus brings out the theme, and title, Heart Of Darkness.
At the time, the Europeans often referred to Africa as the Dark Continent'. This is the main setting of Marlow's story and his destination is the Congo, which is the heart of Africa. An image of darkness is used to portray this whole setting. As Marlow begins to narrate, one of the first descriptions of Africa that he gives is of the dark shores. This gives the passengers of the Nellie, as well as the reader, their initial image of the Dark Continent.
Before Marlow leaves for Africa, he goes for an interview at the company's office. There he comes across two women knitting with black wool. In Greek mythology, the allusion of the fates were in charge of a person's life, and they would spin a string
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...﻿Heart of Darkness Essay
Light and dark imagery is one element most commonly used in literature, and has held specific symbolic meanings for hundreds of years. Simply stated, light generally symbolizes good, while darkness symbolizes the complete opposite, evil. More specifically, Conrad uses detailed imagery of light and dark to show that white men can in fact be more savage than the natives. While the contrast of light and dark, white and black, and good and evil is a common theme in his novel, Conrad reverses the meanings of the two. In his story often the light is viewed as more menacing and evil than the darkness, and the white characters more spiteful than the black. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses light and dark imagery and the reversing of their regular meanings as a main focal point throughout the novel. Conrad establishes throughout this the theme that not everything is as it seems.
Conrad uses light imagery as a symbol of civilization. Darkness is defined as the absence of light just like the black jungle is defined as the absence of white man’s civilization, a civilization full of corruption and evil. Conrad’s first description of Brussels is an example of this. “In a very few hours I arrived at a city that always made me think of a white sepulcher.” It is significant that Conrad describes the building as a white coffin, because the job there is...

...1. Some critics believe that in Heart of Darkness Conrad illustrates how ‘’the darkness of the landscape can lead to the darkness of the social corruption.” This statement means that if the environment is dark, then the people in that environment will match the surrounding feeling, which is dark and depressing. For example, if it is a gloomy rainy day, most people feel tired and not as happy. If it is a bright sunny day, the most people feel motivated to get things done and joyful. Yes, this statement is believable because I have noticed that the weather, my surroundings, and even other people’s behaviors around me affect my mood. Today, for instance, it rained all day and the sky was dark, as a result I slept throughout the whole day. So my environment changed my mood negatively. – “It made you feel very small, very lost, and yet it was not altogether depressing, that feeling.” When riding along the river.
2. Heart of Darkness seems to blur the line between the so-called “advanced” society of Europe and the “primitive” society of Africa. The native people of Africa are referred to as savages. The white people in the novel showed they had uncivilized characteristics like the natives. Since the white people felt superior, however, they treated...

...Staci Watson
Mills
AP English 6th
April 17, 2012
Heart of Darkness vs. Apocalypse Now
Both the novel "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad and the movie "Apocalypse Now" are about one man's journey through Africa and Vietnam. A comparison and contrast can be made between the two. Both have the same themes but entirely different settings. Heart of Darkness takes place on the Congo River in the Heart of Africa while Apocalypse Now is set in Vietnam. The stock characters in both have the same general personalities but have different names. Of course, Kurtz is Kurtz, Willard twins Marlow, and the American photojournalist relates to the Russian Harlequin. Willard is a lieutenant for the US Army while Marlow is a captain of a steamboat of an ivory company. The first looks of Willard and Marlow differ a little. The movie begins with Willard lying in an apartment room completely out of touch with reality. He is haunted by his earlier deeds and he is getting very plastered. Willard smashes the mirror while fighting himself and cuts his hand. He falls to the bed crying.
Marlow is portrayed as a traveler of the sea. The narrator described him as a hero somewhat. Their mission is to find Kurtz and take him down.. In both stories Kurtz is a psychotic rebel, worshipped as a god, who threatens the stability of his unit, but in one it is an ivory trading company and in the other it...

...In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, there is a great interpretation of the feelings of the characters and uncertainties of the Congo. Although Africa, nor the Congo are ever really referred to, the Thames river is mentioned as support. This intricate story reveals much symbolism due to Conrad's theme based on the lies and good and evil, which interact together in every man.
Today, of course, the situation has changed. Most literate people know that by probing into the heart of the jungle Conrad was trying to convey an impression about the heart of man, and his tale is universally read as one of the first symbolic masterpieces of English prose (Graver,28). In any event, this story recognizes primarily on Marlow, its narrator, not about Kurtz or the brutality of Belgian officials. Conrad wrote a brief statement of how he felt the reader should interpret this work:
"My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to
make you feel-it is above all, to make you see.(Conrad 1897)
Knowing that Conrad was a novelist who lived in his work, writing about the experiences were as if he were writing about himself. "Every novel contains an element of autobiography-and this can hardly be denied, since the creator can only explain himself in his creations."(Kimbrough,158) The story is written as seen through Marlow's eyes. Marlow is a follower of the sea. His voyage...

...Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness explores many themes throughout the book which can be related to one another such as “Identity” and “Darkness” Joseph Conrad depicts these themes through the use of symbolism and how the narrator thinks and speaks.
Joseph Conrad uses a diverse range of symbolism throughout the novel to communicate a deeper message within, it allows readers to think more in depth and make a connection to its meaning. It could also the message easier to understand.
In Heart of Darkness there are two narrators, the first is unknown but opens the scene and through him we are introduced with Marlow, who himself is recounting his story; this indicates that almost everything in the book will be a reflection of his thoughts and what he sees, this leads into the first theme of discussion: Identity. Heart of Darkness is enriched with the focus of identity, as it follows throughout the whole of Marlow’s journey. One could say that “Heart of Darkness” is about finding ones identity.
The theme of Identity basically means ones character, his or her individuality and personality. As identity is such a broad topic it can be broken down into other sections. There is Loss of identity, finding ones identity, creating false identities. But the two main characters, Marlow and Kurtz portray the theme of...